Dear Editor,
We are at a crossroads for democracy in Ohio.
Voters in 2015 and 2018 overwhelmingly approved plans to ensure that new maps for Legislative and Congressional districts written to reflect the 2020 Census were fair and avoided partisan gerrymandering.
Our elected leaders have failed to follow that directive.
In September, The Ohio Redistricting Commission, a bipartisan body created by the 2015 plan, ignored this mandate from voters by approving gerrymandered Legislative maps. Now, the Legislature is nearing a decision on Congressional maps, with no sign yet that it will do any better than the ORC.
The make-up of Legislative and Congressional maps will determine whether communities of like interests are kept whole, whether there is vigorous debate on key issues, and whether the interests of voters, or partisan interests, are paramount.
Since early August, when the census data was released, our elected leaders have had ample lead time to develop proposed Legislative and Congressional maps and make them available for discussion prior to adoption, but they have failed to do so. The Republican-led Legislature and the ORC have repeatedly missed deadlines for producing 10-year maps, which need bipartisan support for approval.
As a result, the public has been deprived of the opportunity to assess whether the maps meet the criteria for fairness set in 2015 and 2018: That the districts be compact and avoid splitting counties and cities as much as possible; and that the number of Democratic- and Republican-leaning districts be roughly proportional to statewide elections. A number of organizations and private individuals have developed maps that meet these criteria. Several were made available to the ORC at an Oct. 28 hearing and more will be shared at House and Senate hearings this week.
The fate of the Congressional maps is now in the hands of the Ohio Legislature, which has until Nov. 30 to approve a 10-year map. It will take an expression of outrage from voters to push the Legislature in the right direction and approve fair Congressional maps. The League of Women Voters of Ohio and Common Cause Ohio have led an organized and loud outcry for fair maps culminating in a rally at the statehouse Oct. 28. Please add your voice to this effort by contacting your legislators in the House and Senate, as well as the Governor, Secretary of State and Auditor of State.
Brian E. Miller,
Gambier, Ohio
